Lake Washington Wrecks

While diving in Lake Washington is not for the feint of heart due
to the extremely low visibility and deep, dark dives featured there, it is without a doubt, some of
the best wreck diving in the Pacific Northwest. The cold lake water has
preserved scores of old wrecks from the hey day of the Mosquito Fleet and steam
passenger ferries. It is not for everyone, but for serious wreck divers is simply stunning.

Atlantic City (1). Huge Oak
timbers and hand planed planking mark the remains of this once graceful steamer
lying in 120' of water at the South End of Lake Washington.

City of Tacoma (1). A 120' long ferry that
once ran passengers and cars around Puget Sound and Lake
Washington was being used as a breakwater for the Yarrow
Bay Marina when she sank in 20 feet of water, just
outside the marina.

Coal Cars
(1). Eighteen wood Coal Cars sank off a
barge in 1875. The are almost perfectly preserved
and still sit on the bottom of the lake full of Coal.

Dawn
(4). A 55' wood hulled passenger steamer that once ferried
students from Mercer Island to Leschi Park. One of my favorite Lake
Washington dives and reasonably shallow at 120'.

Diamond Girl (1).
A 35' Motor Sailor with an impressive diamond plate bow and lots of custom
aluminum work around the bulwarks and inside the cabin.

Falcon
(1). A beautiful old passenger
steamer, 85' Long that still has the Passenger Cabin in
place. Nearly 200' deep in the middle of the North
Part of Lake Washington.

Fresno (1). 150' sailing vessel that
burned in Meydenbauer Bay, April 24, 1923.
Scuttled in the middle of Lake Washington in 180' of
water. Very interesting dive on a historic whaling
ship.

Foss 75 (1). Very impressive and large
barge that sank north of Sand Point in Lake Washington.

Hauler (4). A 60' long wood hulled boat, that resembles a
Chinese Junk lies quietly forgotten on the bottom at the south end of the lake.
Viz was really poor on this dive, so no good photos!

Hauled Barge (1). An interesting old
wooden barge, located just South of the Hauler.

King Street Scow (1). An old
wood barge that sank just north of the I-90 bridge in 45' of water, not far from
the end of King Street.

Landing Craft (1). This WWII LCVP Landing
Craft or Higgins Boat was scuttled not far from Gene
Coulon park after seeing a lot of action in the Pacific.
This is a fascinating bit of history for wreck divers.

Louie (2).
A 63' long wood hulled tug that sank in 1973 just off
the Carillon Point Marina.

Old Salt (1). An 85' wood-hulled schooner
scuttled off of Hougton.

PA-d3 Barge (2). An old steel barge on the bottom
of Lake Washington. Three open compartments and wood plank floor adorn
this odd shaped vessel used to haul lumber or coal.

PB4Y-2 Privateer
Bomber (2). Amazing WWII
Privateer Bomber lying at the bottom of Lake Washington, just off the Magnuson
Park Boat Ramp. With her guns still pointing off into the murky depths of
the lake at about 150' Deep, and very low visibility but a cool dive.

PBM
Martin Mariner (2). A huge flying boat from WWII that sank after
striking an obstruction in front of the Boeing Seaplane ramp at the south end of
Lake Washington. Only 70' deep, and a nice dive.

PV-2
Harpoon (2). Nose down in the mud, just
off the end of the Sand Point Naval Air Station runway
lies this WWII torpedo-bomber.

Seattle Tennis Club Barge (1). An old barge
located just off the Seattle Tennis Club.

S.L.
Dowell (1). A pristine 45' long
steam tug that sank in the middle of Lake Washington in
1922 when it hit a snag off of Mercer Island.

Snickerdoodle Tug (1). A small tug in
the south end of the lake that was scuttled with lots of barrels. Several
portholes have fallen on the bottom around this wreck.

Sonny (2).
A very nice 38' fishing boat that is still in excellent condition in the south
end of Lake Washington.

Urania (1). A burned out Passenger Steamer
Hull in the North End of Lake Washington.

Valiant
SNV-2 (1). An engine failure during a
training flight on February 29, 1944 put this aircraft
in the Lake due north from the old Sand Point Naval Air
Station.

West Shore Scow (1). Power driven scow that
sank along the western shore of Lake Washington.

Wheeler (2).
Forty foot long wood-hulled fishing boat in the South
End of Lake Washington with a very distinctive steering
wheel and controls still in place in the wheel house.

YMS
359 Minesweeper (1). One of three YMS
class minesweepers that were scuttled in Lake
Washington. This particular vessel "disappeared"
from UW docks after a fire in the living quarters.

YMS Minesweeper #3 (1). Just discovered in 2007, this
is the third YMS Minesweeper found out in the middle of Lake Washington, and the
one that is in the best shape. 128 feet long and 200 feet deep. An
awesome dive, but deep and dark.

Zippy (1).
A very picturesque forty-two foot fishing boat that was
scuttled in the north end of Lake Washington in 170' of
water.